The present invention relates to a water conservation toilet and more particularly to a toilet designed to allow a dual flush alternative. Accordingly the present invention is directed to a toilet which can deliver a first volume of water which is sufficient to empty the contents of the toilet bowl when an individual has urinated in the bowl and a second larger quantity of water sufficient to empty the contents of the bowl when a bowel movement has occurred.
In recent years there has been a greater emphasis on conserving natural resources such as water and fossil fuels. Particularly in the water conservation area, especially in commercial buildings such as offices, hotels and apartments, water saving faucets and shower heads have become more and more prevalent in usage as they considerably save the volume of water used through normal activities such as washing and showering. In addition, attempts have been made to provide similar water conservation principals in the use of toilets so that the volume of water used per flush is decreased. Large volumes of water are consumed in a typical toilet when it is flushed. The average flush of a toilet consumes approximately three to five gallons of water and this is far in excess of the amount required for an effective evacuation of the toilet bowl, even when evacuating a bowel movement.
It has been recognized in the past that one way to conserve the volume of water used in flushing a toilet is to provide a dual flush alternative where a first limited volume of water is discharged when the toilet has been used only for urination and a second larger volume is discharged when the toilet has been used for a bowel movement. One such prior art device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,180 to Figeroid. In this patent the toilet tank is segregated into two compartments each having a flap release valve controlled through a single flush actuating handle. The mechanism is complex and requires the use of two flappers and careful control by the user to initiate either a limited water flush capacity or maximum water flush capacity.
A somewhat similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,772 to Smith which also shows use of a primary and secondary tank area within the water containing tank of a toilet and which is activated by the user according to the needs by controlling the single lever used to flush the tank.
Other attempts to address the problem of conserving water in toilet flushing are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,129,110 to Richter, 5,191,662 to Sharrow, 4,304,014 to Thompson, 5,117,513 to Burrowes, 4,646,369 to Brown et al, 4,561,131 to David, 5,495,624 to Lisook et al, 5,319,809 to Testa, 5,548,850 to Geeham, 5,642,533 to Young, 5,873,136 to Geeham and 5,887,292 to Goren. All of these prior art attempts to provide for a dual capacity flush toilet utilize somewhat complex mechanisms and/or the use of two flap or ball valves to control water egress from the toilet tank to the toilet bowl. These mechanisms, because of their complexity, may also be prone to failure in time and the use of ball or flap valves to control water egress are also prone to failure after a period of time.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual flush capacity water conservation toilet of simple construction with simple mechanism so as to provide a long and useful life without premature failure or need for repair.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a dual flush capacity toilet of simple construction which can be economically manufactured and which is simple to use.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent after consideration of the accompanying specification and drawings.